a day at the ascot
TRANSCRIPT
A DAY AT THE ASCOT
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Wednesday the 30th April 2014
Ascot, 30 miles from London is an exhilarating trip to one of the World’s Best Racing Venues. Today is the first day of the season that ends with the ROYAL ASCOT RACE DAY sometime in the third week of June. There are six races scheduled today with first race starting at 2 pm. We started from Waterloo station in London at 11:21 and reached the venue much before time to soak in the atmosphere. Do you know? Horse races are measured in Furlongs. One Furlong is 200mters. 8 Furlongs make a mile and 5 make a Kilometre. Each race has different lengths and varying number of horses. The first race had only four horses ran for 1000mtrs. LONGINES is to Ascot as ROLEX is to Wimbledon. They are the time-‐keepers. At every race meeting at Ascot there are four specially qualified equine vets appointed to look after the welfare of all horses racing.
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The horses are paraded at the Parade Ring before they are raced. This is to help the betters to see the horse that they would want to bet.
Horse age ranges from 2 to 7, most common age being 4. Jockeys are skinny and weigh very less so that they don’t become a burden on the horse. Horse Trainer is as important as the jockey. The breed of the Horse also plays an important part in the race. Gender of the Horse Can you think of one sport where men and women compete against each other as equals? Stumped? Try horse racing, where female jockeys regularly jump in the hot seat alongside their male counterparts. Colt: A male horse under four years old Gelding: A castrated male horse Stallion: A male horse that has not been castrated Filly: A female horse under four years old Mare: An adult female horse
HORSES ON PARADE – JUST BEFORE THE RACE
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First Race of my life In the first race there were four horses only. I bet £2 on an Horse named ESCALATING. This had been recommended by many. It was a two year old colt. This race was for 1000 mtrs. It was completed in 1:04:24 – as clocked by the time keeper. Before we could blink the eye the race was completed! But the race was controversial. While the winner was indeed ESCALATING, it was found that at the winning stretch it had brushed aside another horse. So the authorities had to see the video footage to confirm that it was not deliberate. Finally it was announced by the authorities that the push was accidental and ESCALATING was declared winner. Beginners LUCK. I got my £7 pounds for my first bet! I lost my other three races. Net loss: £3 pounds on an investment of £ 10. Not bad for the first experience.
You can see the timeline of LONGINES at the background.
Because there is normally enough time between races, public use the opportunity to do many things – such drink, eat and chat Some enthusiasts do watch the horses being paraded and exchange notes on the betting system. There are various types of bets. The Tote is the only bookmaker in Britain which is allowed to offer betting on horse racing. Other bookmakers offer a Tote service through syndication, while other bookmakers
will accept a Tote bet and pay out on exactly the same terms as the Tote. The pooled bets offered by the Tote are: Win, Place, Exacta, Trifecta, Quadpot, Placepot, Jackpot, Scoop6 and Swinger. Some of the above terms are self explanatory. Bet on winning the horse as in first place, bet on winning the horse in all six races…etc. etc. Enough data is available on websites on these kinds of bets. You can also pick a horse to be placed – in a particular order! This bet is known as Toteplace.
Just before the Finish Line in the 3rd Race
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Obviously Jackpot means winning the winner in all the six races. The possibility is very low. And hence returns are high. The Jackpot winner in some high profile race days may get close to £5 million!
The Fourth Race The fourth race conducted at 3:45 pm was an interesting one. We bet on two horses: HARRIS TWEED & COCKTAIL QUEEN -‐ £2 pounds each. This is a longer race of 3.2 kms. Most of it has to be watched on the screen and the last leg is seen live as the race nears the finish line, that is where one sees the Longines time screen. CQ is a filly and 4yr old with a very low rating HT is a gelding and 7yrs old, but has a very high rating. We bet on both and lost!! And how… The winner was TAC DE BOISTRON a 7 yr old gelding, with just a bit higher rating than CQ. The way this horse ran has every one gasping. At the finish line it was clear two lengths ahead of its nearest rival! Because the run was long, the race was followed very closely by the public on the giant screen. We did not attend the other two races as there was a tube strike in London and we had to get back home, before nightfall. We had to take a complicated train and bus route home because of the strike.
Punters watching the race keenly
The Prize Ceremony – A Royal Family member presenting the trophy
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Apart from the breed of the horse, the Trainer and Jockey play a big part in the fortunes of the horse. Keen punters study various aspects of the horse (its history in winning) and pedigree before committing on the bet.
Early Birds taking vantage positions in the lawn